That's Just The Way It Is
by WinchesterAngel3389
Summary: REBOOT: Jennifer Santos has been living life on the road with the Winchesters in search of a Yellow Eyed Demon. When John Winchester goes missing, Dean and Jenn recruit Sam from Stanford to help find him. Can the three find John before anything happens to him? Will Jenn get distracted by her feelings for a certain brother as her past comes to haunt her? (Spoilers for Season 1)


Final season calls for a reboot of the Winchester/Santos saga. I've been trying to find it in me to restart it after I deleted the originals a couple of years back...but I found it with the start of the final season. The Winchesters story may end soon but it will continue to live on as we have many fantastic writers on this site. It's not canon but it's our own. Hope you guys enjoy this reboot. Love you all.

* * *

Jennifer Santos sat in the front passenger's seat of Dean's impala, her mind caught up in her thoughts. She and Dean were headed to Stanford to get Sam in an effort to find the 'missing' John Winchester, the boys father.

"You're thinking about what to say to him, aren't you?" Dean asked, glancing between the road and the girl next to him.

"What? No. It's not even like that." Jenn denied, shaking her head.

"Not even like what?"

"Not even like...what you're think-shut up."

Dean lightly chuckled as he hit a stop light.

"Well, you still got some time to figure out your opening line."

"What opening line? I'm not like you, Dean. I don't need a line just to talk to someone." Jenn couldn't help but laugh.

"You mean someone you're most likely still into."

"I'm not into Sam."

"So the night before he left for college…"

"Oh god…" Jenn mumbled to herself, pinching her nose in embarrassment.

"Wait, what do you mean I have to practice talking to the ladies? I'm velvety smooth, there's no need for practice."

"If you refer to yourself as velvety smooth, you're not velvety smooth."

Jenn lightly smacked Dean's shoulder as she finished speaking, the two sharing a laugh.

In the time Sam had been gone, Jenn and Dean had grown closer. Jenn had always been close to the younger Winchester but since he had gone to college, she had gotten to spend more time with Dean.

She enjoyed Dean's company the past couple of years. The two of them also learned that they work well together now that they've been on their own. She would never admit this aloud but Jenn also was sorta questioning certain feelings for Dean.

Having even the slightest crush on Dean after having previously had relations with his brother before he left for college? That was wrong, right? It had to be, in her mind. Especially since it was her virginity. It had meant something to her, seeing as she was 20, two years older than Sam, when it happened. She was a late bloomer in that area, sue her.

Again, it had meant something to Jenn. But then her and Sam's daily calls or texts turned into weekly, which turned into every other week until it was every other month...then he met his current girlfriend, Jessica. Jenn would be lying if she said she wasn't jealous for the first couple of months...but what mattered is that Sam was happy. Maybe this is why getting to spend all of this time with Dean was making her question some feelings she may have for him...it was her trying to move on.

Dean, realizing Jenn had been too quite for too long, looked over to his companion. He couldn't help but smile when he saw that she had fallen asleep.

* * *

"_Holy crap…" Sam mumbled to himself as he looked at a piece of paper in his hand._

"_What?" Jenn asked as she looked up from her bag._

"_I-I got in."_

"_What?" She asked in a lighter tone, smile on her face._

"_I-I did it. I'm going to Stanford...and it's a full ride."_

_Jenn smiled and went over to him, giving him a hug. Her smile faded when she pulled away because she had just remembered the big fight he and John had over this not too long ago. Sam was doing anything but smiling and celebrating right now._

"_So...what are you gonna do? You gonna tell him?" Jenn asked him seriously for a moment._

"_I don't know…"_

"_Do you wanna go?"_

"_Of course, I wouldn't have-"_

"_Then you have to tell him, Sam. For all we know, maybe he's had time to think it over."_

"_Jenn, you should know it's never that easy."_

"_Well…" She paused as she thought of her next words. "You've never wanted this life, Sam. It wouldn't be fair for any of us-me, your dad or Dean- to force you to stay. You should have the chance to leave it and build something new. Whatever happens is meant to be. You need to grow and leaving is what you need for that."_

"_If only my dad can be as understanding as you right now."_

"_Let's hope he keeps a leveled head this time. He'll come around, I have a feeling. Especially once he sees that you were accepted on a full ride."_

_Sam sighed and nodded. Jenn watched as he went to the adjoining room door and knocked before going inside. She had hoped things would go smoothly._

_Jenn continued to go through her bag, looking for a pair of clean pajamas to wear when she heard John start to yell. Well, there went the hopes of things going smoothly. _

"_Dammit…" Jenn mumbled to herself before going into the next room._

_Dean stood between Sam and John, trying to keep them apart as they continued to try and get into one another's faces. Of all the arguments, this one had to be one of the worst considering both Jenn and Dean were concerned that fists could start to fly._

"_Sam, Sam, come on. Let's go into the other room." Jenn said as she tried to push him into the next room._

"_If you leave, then you might as well stay gone! Do you hear me!?" John shouted at Sam as Dean held him back. _

"_Then I'm gone!" Sam shouted back before he turned to leave the room on his own._

_Jenn sighed and ran a hand through her hair before following him and closing the door behind her. She locked it in case John decided to try to have another go._

_Immediately, Sam had started to gather his clothes and throw them into his duffle. Reality had started to set in that he was actually leaving...that Sam wouldn't be around anymore. She had taken a seat on the bed next to his bag and lightly sighed._

"_So this is it, then." She finally said._

_Sam stopped packing and pulled the bag from the bed, letting it fall to the ground as he sat down next to her._

"_Yeah...looks like it." Sam replied, a sigh of his own escaping him._

"_I'm really sorry I pushed you to say something tonight. It could've waited."_

"_Don't be sorry. We both know that this would've ended the same way."_

_Silence filled the room for a moment. Suddenly it seemed like they didn't know how to be around each other._

"_I'm still really proud of you, Sam. You deserve this."_

"_Thanks."_

_Jenn offered Sam a small smile before she sighed aloud. God, she was gonna miss him. They've been through a lot in the eight years they've gotten to spend together. When Dean and John went away from weeks at a time, it was just her and Sam. She had considered the youngest Winchester her best friend._

_Sam had felt slightly different. He felt the same but part of him was sure he had a crush on this one. At this moment, it was now or never._

_He leaned forward and kissed her. Jenn was caught by surprised and hadn't kissed back when Sam pulled away._

"_I-I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done-"_

_Jenn had cut Sam off and kissed him this time. Something about it felt right in this moment and she wanted more. Their kiss deepened, Sam's fingers weaved themselves into Jenn's hair as she held onto the collar on his button up._

"_I want you, Sam." Jenn whispered in between kisses._

_She didn't know she needed him until this moment. Maybe those feelings she questioned about a year ago were somewhat real. Now may not have been the best time to delve too deep into her thoughts though seeing as Sam was headed to college. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she slowly began to undo the buttons to his flannel._

* * *

Jenn woke up, looking around to gather her bearings. She saw Dean leaning against the side of the impala, pumping gas.

She was surprised that she dreamt about her first time with Sam. She hadn't thought about that in a while. Last time was a year and a half ago, when she had started to fall out of touch with Sam...around the time he met the girl he raved about: Jessica. Of course she was happy he found someone but there was that period of jealousy because that night she spent with Sam...it had meant something to her.

Maybe it was wishful thinking to think that anything could happen beyond that night.

Or she was just being a complete idiot for feeling like this. Maybe she was just being a jealous, insecure jerk...only mentally considering she never voiced these feelings out loud.

As Jenn began rubbing her right eye, Dean got back into the car. He tossed a bag of hot cheetos in her direction.

"Thought you'd be hungry when you woke up." Dean said as he dug back in the grocery bag and passed her a soda.

"Thanks." Jenn smiled sleepily at Dean.

Dean started the car and drove away from the gas station.

"We'll be in Palo Alto in a few hours. Promise we'll get some real food then."

"You act like you're saying that for my benefit."

"What, do you not like food?"

"I do but we both know that you're the one who hasn't eaten since dinner yesterday because you insisted on not stopping, 'unless for gas or bathroom breaks'."

"So?"

"Dean, it's almost lunch time."

"I'm eating breakfast." Dean held up a small bag of chips and a candy bar.

"Those are just snacks. Not a meal, bud."

"Oh yeah, speaking of meals, I may have eaten your leftovers from dinner last night while you were sleeping. So yeah, I had breakfast."

Jenn looked towards the backseat to see her food was no longer there. She turned back and glared at him.

"You sick son of a bitch." She whispered loud enough for him to hear.

"Come on, you know I'll make it up to you."

"With hot cheetos?" She held up the open, semi-eaten bag. "These are apology cheetos?"

"Yeah." Dean shrugged.

"How dare you taint the sanctity of our normal friendship cheetos?"

Dean didn't answer and glanced over to see Jenn put another hot cheeto in her mouth, playfully reluctant.

"I thought those were tainted?"

"They are but...I'm hungry."

Dean hid a smile as he shook his head.

* * *

Jenn leaned against the hood of Dean's impala as she waited for him to come back with Sam. He thought it would be best to go alone because he had this grand ol' plan of seeing how rusty he was after these past couple of years.

She would never admit this to Dean but she was nervous seeing Sam again. She hadn't actually seen him in person since he left. Maybe her staying behind while Dean went to go get his brother was a good idea. She could give herself more time to deal with the nerves.

"The weapons training and melting the silver into bullets? Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors." Sam's slightly irritated voice said to Dean as he followed him.

Or not.

Jenn took a deep breath and straightened herself as Sam and Dean approached the impala. She offered a small smile at Sam when he looked over to her.

"Hey Sam." Jenn said.

"Jenn." Sam couldn't help but smile back as he walked over to her, enveloping her into a hug. "It's so good to see you."

"Good to see you too." She smiled brightly as they pulled away.

"So what are you gonna do? You're just gonna live some normal, apple pie life? Is that it?" Dean continued, deciding that they had enough time to say hello.

"No. Not normal. Safe." Sam said as he turned to Dean.

"And that's why you ran away." He looked away, glancing around the area.

"I was just going to college. It was Dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing."

"To be fair he did say that." Jenn interjected.

Dean looked over to Jenn with a raised eyebrow. She nodded as she understood what he was trying to say. Not the time, she's got that.

"Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already. I can feel it." Dean argued while Sam didn't reply. "We can't do this alone." Dean motioned between himself and Jenn.

"Yes you can." Sam replied.

"We don't want to." Jenn told him as Dean looked down for a moment.

With a sigh, Sam looked down in thought before looking between Jenn and Dean.

"What was he hunting?"

Dean looked Sam in the eyes before opening the trunk. Going into the arsenal hidden in the spare tire compartment, he propped it open.

"Alright, let's see, where the hell did I put that thing?" Dean questioned himself aloud. Jenn headed to the arsenal to help him look.

"So when dad left why didn't you guys go with him?"

"We were working our own gig. This, uh, voodoo thing down in New Orleans."

"Dad let you two go on a hunting trip by yourselves?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"I'm twenty six and she's twenty four, dude."

"Exactly. We're big kids now." Jenn added, earning a chuckle from Sam.

Dean found what he was looking for. Pulling some papers from a manila folder, he began to explain everything to Sam.

"Alright, here we go. So Dad was checking out this two lane blacktop outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy," Dean passed one of the papers to Sam. "They found his car but he vanished, completely MIA."

"So maybe he was kidnapped." Sam suggested.

"Yeah. Well, here's another one in April," Dean tossed down other papers for each guy. "Another one in December 04, 03, 98, 92. Ten of them over the past 20 years." He quickly took the pile of papers back from Sam and put them back in the folder. "All men, all the same five mile stretch of road." Dean grabbed a bag and began searching it.

"It started happening more and more so your dad went to go dig around. That was about 3 weeks ago. We hadn't heard from him since." Jenn continued for Dean who found the tape recorder he was looking for.

"Then I get this voicemail yesterday." Dean pressed play.

What played back was a bunch of static, the signal from the other line breaking up between words.

"_Dean...something big is starting to happen...I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may... Be very careful, Dean. We're all in danger_." John Winchester's voice spoke.

Dean pressed stop.

"You know there's EVP on that?" Sam said.

"Not bad, Sammy. Kinda like riding a bike, isn't it?" Dean teased, earning a shake of the head from Sam. " I slowed the message down, I ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got.

He pressed play once more.

"_I can never go home_." A woman's voice whispered.

"Never go home…"

Dean pressed stop again, putting the recorder down and closing the arsenal and trunk before leaning against it.

"You know, in almost two years _I've_ never bothered you, never asked you for a thing." Dean said, making sure to accentuate the 'I've' as he looked over at Jenn.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I've only texted him to say hello." Jenn told Dean.

Sam looked away and sighed before looking back over to the two.

"Alright. I'll go. I'll help you find him." Sam relented. "But I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here."

Sam turned to head back to his apartment.

"What's first thing Monday?" Dean asked.

"I have this-I have an interview." He stopped walking and turned to face Dean and Jenn.

"What, a job interview? Skip it."

Jenn smacked Dean with the back of her hand on his arm.

"It's a law school interview and it's my whole future on a plate."

"Law school?"

"That's awesome, Sam." Jenn told him with a smile.

"So we got a deal or not?" Sam asked, earning no reply from Dean.

With a sigh, Jenn decided to answer for him.

"Deal."

Sam nodded and headed back to his apartment to pack up. Jenn smacked Dean again.

"Ow." Dean hissed.

"Stop being like that."

"Like what?"

"You know what. Look, he has the freedom to make his choices and he chose to go to college and get out of this life. It's not like he asked for it anyway."

"Jenn, I'm not gonna get into this with you."

"Plus, shouldn't we be happy he'll live a long life? You and me? We most likely won't. To be honest, I'll be surprised if I make it to 40. He'll be safe and he already know how to handle things in case something happens."

"Okay, okay. Are we done?"

Jenn shrugged and held her hands up to show him that they were done.

"By the way, you still owe me dinner for eating my leftovers last night." Jenn said before heading to the back door.

"Wait, wait, I already paid you back in cheetos." Dean said as he turned to face her.

"Those were tainted, pity cheetos, by the way. That was interest. You owe me a meal." She opened the door. "And then I'll let it go."

Jenn got into the backseat and closed the door before Dean could reply. Dean shook his head and laughed to himself lightly.

* * *

The next morning, Sam is sitting in the passenger seat rifling through Dean's box of tapes while catching up with Jenn, sitting in the backseat.

"Dean's practice pickup lines were terrible." Sam chuckled looking back at Jenn, the two reflecting on their teen years.

"Oh god, they were. I don't know what I was thinking, letting him test them on me." Jenn replied with a smile.

"_You know, you're definitely one of the cuter girls I've met in my time._" Sam mocked him.

They both laughed as they remembered the time fondly. Sam would never tell Jenn this but he always believed that Dean had a legitimate crush on her since they were teenagers. He felt that Dean really was not only trying make Jenn laugh at his pickup lines in an attempt to keep her attention but also hoping maybe one would actually work.

"At least we were truthful enough to make sure he didn't sound like an idiot."

"Hey!" Dean called from outside the car, catching Sam and Jenn's attention. "You want breakfast?" He showed them his bag of snacks.

"No thanks." Sam said.

"Ooh, gimmie." Jenn answered, making grabby hands.

Dean passed the bag to Jenn and she grabbed the bag of hot cheetos and Rolo candy.

"Are these pity cheetos again?" Jenn continued, looking at Dean with a raised brow.

"No. I already paid you back." Dean told her as he topped off the gas.

"Just checking."

"So how'd you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, well, hunting ain't exactly a pro ball career." Dean replied, putting the nozzle back on the pump. "Besides all we do is apply. It's not our fault they send us the cards."

"Yeah? And what names did you write on the application this time?" Sam swung his legs back into the car and closed the door, the box of tapes still on his lap.

"Uh, Burt Aframian." Dean got into the car. "And his son Hector. Scored two cards out of the deal."

"That sounds about right. I swear, man, you've gotta update your cassette tape collection."

"Why?"

"Well for one: they're cassette tapes. And two: Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?" Dean took the tape in Sam's hand. "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

"Well, house rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole."

"What does backseat get?" Jenn asked curiously as Dean started the car.

"Lucky they're getting a ride."

Jenn rolled her eyes and settled into her seat.

"You know, Sammy is a chubby twelve year old. It's Sam, okay?" Sam interrupted.

"Sorry, I can't hear you, the music's too loud."

Dean lightly chuckled as he put the car in drive while Sam shook his head.

* * *

Driving along the Centennial Highway, Sam was on the phone trying to see if they could get a lock on John. Dean listened carefully as he drove while Jenn happily continued to munch on her cheetos.

"Thank you." Sam finished up, hanging up his phone. "Alright so there's no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So that's something I guess."

Dean briefly glanced at Sam before looking back to the road. Jenn noticed the tone of Sam's voice too. They just couldn't quite put their finger on what it was whether it was indifference or worry. If there was one thing that these boys were good at, it was hiding their feelings. Sometimes Jenn could read them but other times, not so well.

"Check it out." Dean said suddenly, breaking Jenn from her thoughts.

Dean pulled the car to a stop. Outside, there were cops along the bridge and in the middle of it all looked to be an abandoned car. But that many cops for an abandoned car? Dean opened the glove compartment and pulled out a badge, tossing it back at Jenn before he pulled another out for himself.

"Let's go." Dean said to Sam with a small grin.

The three hunters got out of the car and headed towards the crime scene.

"You guys find anything?" The deputy called over the bridge.

"No! Nothing!" A voice called from below.

"No sign of struggle, no footprints, no fingerprints. Spotless. It's almost too clean." The other deputy told his superior as he walked over to him. Dean, Sam and Jenn walked over with the confidence of real officers of the law. Like they belonged there, unbeknownst to the deputies they don't.

"So, this kid Troy. He's dating your daughter, isn't he?" The deputy's name tag read 'Jaffe' asked his colleague.

"Yeah." Deputy Hein, according to _his_ name tag, replied.

"How's Amy doing?"

"She's putting up missing posters downtown."

"You fellas had another one like this last month, didn't you?" Dean interrupted.

"And who are you?" Jaffe asked.

Dean and Jenn quickly flash their badges.

"Federal Marshals."

"And it takes three of you?"

"It does when there's a trainee involved." Jenn stated.

Jaffe looked over the three "marshals" for a moment.

"You are all a little young for marshals aren't you?"

Dean lightly chuckled.

"Thanks, that's awfully kind of you." Dean said before walking towards the car. "You did have another one just like this, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right. About a mile up the road. There've been others before that." Jaffe answered, following them.

"So, this victim, you knew him?" Sam asked.

"Town like this, everybody knows everybody."

"Any connection between the victims, besides that they're all men?" Jenn questioned as Dean circled the car.

"No. Not so far as we can tell."

"So what's the theory?"

Dean comes to a stop between Sam and Jenn as he finished sizing up the car.

"Honestly, we don't know. Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?" Jaffe replied, small shrug.

"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys."

Sam stomped on Dean's foot, causing Dean to let out a small groan as Jenn glared at him.

"Thank you for your time." Sam said politely. "Gentlemen." Sam referred to the other deputies on scene.

Sam and Jenn walked ahead of Dean, who trailed for a brief moment. Dean then took the chance to smack Sam on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Sam hissed. "What was that for?"

"Why'd you have to stomp on my foot?" Dean answered irritably.

"Why do you have to talk to the police like that?"

Dean moved in Sam's and Jenn's path, stopping them.

"Come on. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're going to find Dad we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves."

"Doesn't mean you have a be a jerk to cops." Jenn told him.

Sam cleared his throat, looking over Dean's shoulder. Jenn and Dean looked at the people behind Dean: the sheriff and two FBI agents.

"Can I help you?" The sheriff asked them.

"No, sir, we were just leaving." Dean replied. As the FBI agents walked past Dean, he nodded at them both. "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully."

The three hunters walk past the sheriff, who turns to watch them walk away.

"Didn't we just talk about being a dick?" Jenn asked, punching Dean on the shoulder before they got into the car.

* * *

"I'll bet you that's her." Dean said as they took notice of the girl posting up Missing Posters.

"Yeah." Sam and Jenn replied in unison as they approached her.

"You must be Amy." Jenn greeted, small smile on her face.

"Yeah." Amy said, turning to face them, posters still in hand.

"Troy told us about you. We're his uncles. I'm Dean, this is Sammy. And this is Jenn, she's Sammy's girlfriend." Dean told her, earning a small, subtle glare from both Sam and Jenn.

"He never mentioned you to me."

Amy walks away to hang more posters but Sam, Dean and Jenn walk with her.

"Well, that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much, we're up in Modesto."

"So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around." Sam added.

Amy's friend walked up to the group, putting a hand on Amy's arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Her friend asked, checking on her.

"Yeah." Amy replied to her with a nod.

"You mind if we ask you a couple questions?" Sam asked the two women.

* * *

Amy and her friend, Rachel agreed to talk to Sam, Jenn and Dean. So they ended up at a nearby diner to discuss details about Troy's disappearance. The waitress had brought their drinks as Amy took a sip before she continued answering Sam's question.

"I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and...he never did." Amy said.

"He didn't say anything strange or out of the ordinary?"

"No. Nothing I can remember." Amy shook her head.

Sam took notice of the pentagram necklace around Amy's neck.

"I like your necklace."

Amy's hand goes to the pendant she's wearing and looks down at it.

"Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents." She lightly laughed. "With all that devil stuff.

Sam and Jenn laughed a little while Dean just looked over at them.

"Actually, it means just the opposite. A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing."

"Okay. Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries." Dean said sarcastically before leaning forward.

Jenn exchanged a look with Sam and rolled her eyes. They both knew Amy would most likely be more open with them if she was comfortable and sometimes small talk does that.

"Here's the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything…" Dean continued, which caused Amy and Rachel to look at one another. "What is it?"

"Well, it's just... I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk." Rachel said.

"What do they talk about?" Sam, Jenn and Dean asked in unison.

"It's kind of this local legend. This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago. Well, supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever."

The three hunters looked at each other knowingly. Jackpot.

* * *

Sam, Jenn and Dean went to the library to do some research in the local papers about the origins of the legend. The three are crowded around the computer with archive open for the Jericho Herald. Dean typed in his first keywords search which got no results.

"Ooh, try 'murder hitchhiking centennial highway'." Jenn suggested.

Dean typed it in and once more got no results.

"Let me try." Sam said as he reached for the mouse.

"I got it." Dean told him irritably as he smacked Sam's hand away.

Sam sighed and shoved Dean's chair out of the way to the older Winchester's surprise.

"Dude!" Dean said as Sam rolled his chair in front of the computer. Jenn stifled a laugh as she watched Dean scoot back and punch Sam on the shoulder. "You're such a control freak."

"I missed this." Jenn smiled brightly at Dean as he rolled his eyes.

"So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?" Sam asked as he paid no mind to Dean's punch.

"Yeah." Dean and Jenn replied in unison.

"Well, maybe it's not murder."

Sam replaced 'murder' with 'suicide' in the search bar. Sure enough, there's a match. Jenn and Dean exchange a look. Looks like Sammy hasn't lost his touch.

"This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river." Sam said as he read the article, a picture of the woman included in the article.

"Does it say why she did it?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." Sam continued reading.

"What?"

"An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute and when she comes back they aren't breathing. Both die."

"Jesus…" Jenn muttered.

As Sam scrolled down, the article showed a picture of Constance's husband, Joseph and a picture of the Sylvania Bridge: where Troy went missing.

"'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch."

"The bridge look familiar to you?" Dean asked Sam and Jenn.

* * *

The three hunters walked along the bridge, stopping to lean on the railing and look down at the river below.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive." Dean stated.

"So you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked as he turned to look at Dean and Jenn.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him."

Jenn offered Sam a nod as she and Sam followed Dean as he walked away.

"Okay, so now what?"

"Now we keep digging until we find him. Might take a while."

Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday—" Sam stopped walking causing Jenn to do the same.

"Monday. Right. The interview." Dean stopped as well, turning around to face his little brother.

"Yeah."

Jenn didn't like where this was going. She felt in her gut an argument would start.

"Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?" Dean asked Sam, almost patronizing.

She knew it. Here we go.

"Maybe. Why not?" Sam replied.

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean does she know about the things you've done?"

"Dean…" Jenn started, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"No and she's not ever going to know."

"Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are."

Dean turned back around and started walking, causing Sam to follow. With a sigh, Jenn followed them.

"And who's that?"

"You're one of us."

"Guys…" Jenn tried again as Sam rushed to get in front of Dean.

"No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life." Sam told Dean.

"You have a responsibility to—" Dean started before Sam interrupted.

"To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back."

Dean grabbed Sam by her collar and shoved him up against the railing of the bridge. Jenn rushed over to them, placing her hand gently on Dean's left arm.

"That's enough. Both of you, stop." Jenn told them.

"Don't talk about her like that." Dean said to Sam before he let him go.

Dean turned to walk away, leaving Sam with Jenn.

"You good?" Jenn asked Sam who nodded in reply.

"Guys." Dean called out as he stood still.

Jenn and Sam walked over to Dean who watched as Constance stood on the ledge of the bridge. She looked over at the three hunters before she stepped forward of the edge. Sam, Dean and Jenn ran over to the railing and looked over...there was no body.

"Where'd she go?" Jenn asked.

"I don't know." Sam replied.

Suddenly the engine of the impala started and its headlights turned on. Jenn, Sam and Dean turned towards the impala as it's lights shine on them.

"What the—" Dean started.

"Who's driving your car?" Sam asked Dean.

Dean pulled his keys out of his jacket pocket, jingling them causing Jenn and Sam to look over at them. Almost as if on cue, the car came to life, heading straight for them.

"Go! Go!" Sam called out.

The three hunters begin to run as fast as they can. Unfortunately, the car is gaining on them quickly. As it gets closer, they decide to dive over the railing causing the car to stop immediately.

Sam and Jenn both managed to grab a hold of an edge of the bridge and pulled themselves up.

"Where's Dean?" Jenn asked Sam when she looked around to see he wasn't beside them.

Almost immediately, they both looked down to the river below them.

"Dean?" Sam yelled out, getting no reply. "Dean!" He tried again.

"What?" Dean called out as he climbed out of the water.

A sigh of relief escaped Jenn as she and Sam watched a filthy, mud covered Dean crawling to the riverbank, panting.

"Hey! Are you all right?"

"I'm super." He gave them the A-Ok sign with his hand.

Sam and Jenn laughed before they climb over the railing to get to the safer side of the bridge.

"I'm gonna kill him, I was about to have a heart attack." Jenn laughed.

* * *

Dean shut the hood of his car, leaning against it.

"Your car alright?" Jenn asked, gently patting the roof.

"Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a bitch!" Dean replied, yelling out the last word.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure. So where's the job go from here, genius?" Sam asked Dean.

Sam settles next to Dean, leaning against the car. Dean threw up his arms in frustration and flicked mud off his hands, earning a chuckle from Jenn. Sam sniffed and looked over at Dean.

"You smell like a toilet." Sam added.

Dean looked down at his mud covered clothes before looking over to Jenn, who was already standing next to Sam but slightly further away.

"I didn't wanna say anything but…" Jenn said with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

* * *

Jenn waited outside, leaning against the car. She looked down at her phone, seeing a voicemail from an unknown number. She wasn't sure she wanted to check it because last time she did, it was the last person she wanted to hear from.

She had managed to stay hidden from her father for the longest time. He was a piece of crap who used to abuse her and her mother. John Winchester had taken her in when she was 12. Why? She had no idea when he had Sam and Dean to take care of but he did. She would be forever grateful to him for that.

Since John had taken her in, he got her last name legally changed to her mother's maiden name, Santos. He treated her like she was his daughter which meant she was treated the same as his boys. Was it all sunshine and rainbows? Absolutely not but it was better than what she had. Plus, she had Sam and Dean. That made it all worth while.

John had done his best to keep her safe and away from her father, Jeremy, for years. And it seemed after a few years he stopped caring and asking around about her and the Winchesters. But last week, he contacted her and was still very very angry, for lack of a better term. And this unknown number might be him again.

She hadn't told Dean yet. Honestly, she just considered it to be nothing at the moment. Just Jeremy trying to scare her. Yeah...that's all.

Jenn called her voicemail box and listened to the message.

"_You can ignore me all you want, Jennifer._" Jeremy's rapsy voice sounded on the line. "_But you can't hide forever. You and I have some unfinished business to discuss. I will find you. I'm closer than you think. See you real soon._"

Jenn hung up her phone and took a deep breath. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Part of her hoped it was just a threat and he was definitely trying to scare her but the other part of her felt like he was serious. Why was she still afraid of him after all this time?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sam and Dean came out of the front office of the motel.

"Come on." Dean called out to her.

Jenn caught up to Sam and Dean, following them to a room.

"We think he might be here. He got a room." Dean explained as Sam began to pick the lock.

Jenn and Dean immediately began to look out for anyone that could catch them. It didn't take long for Sam to get the door open. He and Jenn went inside and noticed Dean wasn't behind them. He wasn't even paying attention. Sam grabbed him by the back of his jacket and yanked him inside the room, closing the door behind them. They all looked around and noticed the walls covered in maps, newspaper clippings, pictures and notes. Books are on the desk and junk/trash on the floor and the bed.

Dean switched on the lamp by the bed, picking up a half eaten hamburger. As Sam stepped over a line of salt and Jenn inspecting the stuff on the walls, Dean sniffed the burger, a sound of disgust leaving him.

"I don't think he's been here for a couple of days at least." Dean told them.

Sam touched the salt on the floor and looked up, his gaze doing a quick once over on the room.

"Salt, cat's eye shells...he was worried. Trying to keep something from coming in." Sam added before going over to Jenn. "What have you got here?"

"Centennial Highway victims." Jenn replied as both brothers joined her.

"I don't get it. I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection, right? What do these guys have in common?" Dean asked, thinking aloud.

Sam crossed the room to look at the other papers on the wall. He turned on the light to read them better when he saw what his dad found.

"Dad figured it out." Sam said.

Dean and Jenn went to see what Sam was looking at.

"What do you mean?"

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white."

Dean looks back at the photos of Constance's victims, small smirk on his face.

"You sly dogs." Dean turned back to Sam and Jenn. "All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness."

"Well, Dad would want to make sure. He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband." Sam said, tapping the picture of Joseph Welch. "If he's still alive."

As Sam and Jenn continue to peruse the walls, Dean lightly sighed as he looked down at the dried mud covering him.

"Alright. Why don't you, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up."

Dean goes to walk away but Sam stops him.

"Hey, Dean? What I said earlier about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry."

Dean held up his hand to stop Sam from going on.

"No chick-flick moments."

Sam laughed and nodded.

"Alright. Jerk."

"Bitch."

Sam laughs again as Dean goes into the bathroom. He looked over to Jenn, noticing that she was looking at something. He goes over to see that in a mirror frame was a picture of John sitting on the hood of the impala with Sam and Dean when they were little boys. Below it was a picture of Sam and Dean with Jenn when they were kids.

"You okay?" Sam asked Jenn, breaking her stare on the pictures.

"Yeah, I'm good." Jenn replied, offering him a small smile.

"You sure? You've been quiet. It's not completely like you."

Jenn laughed and shook her head.

"It's just crazy, you know? Having you back even if it's just for the weekend. These pictures...they have good memories behind them. Sometimes makes me wish for the old days."

While part of that was true, the voicemail from her father was weighing heavily on her mind. Especially seeing that picture of her and the boys...she wouldn't have had that if it weren't for John Winchester.

Sam lightly smiled and put his arm around her, hugging her from the side before they got to work on finding an address.

* * *

As Jenn sat at the desk looking through some papers, Sam sat down on his bed, checking his voicemail. The smallest pang of sadness hit her again as she glanced up at Sam. She knew it was Jessica. Maybe the part of her that had that experience with him before Stanford about 4 years back had something to do with it. She shouldn't look too much into it. Sam was happy and she wasn't gonna be that person.

Dean came out of the bathroom, nice and clean, and grabbed his jacket.

"Hey, man. I'm starving, I'm gonna grab a little something to eat in that diner down the street. You want anything?" Dean asked Sam.

"No." Sam answered, trying to keep concentrated on the voicemail.

"Aframian's buying." Sam shook his head no once more. Dean shrugged before turning to Jenn. "You coming? According to you, I owe you for eating your leftovers and giving you pity cheetos."

"You finally remembered." She smiled at Dean brightly.

"Don't make me regret it."

Jenn continued smiling as she skipped to the door. The two walked out of the room and they cross the lot. They immediately take notice of the police car and the two deputies from the bridge. The motel clerk spoke to them, pointing Dean's way.

"Are you kidding me?" Jenn whispered as Dean turned around, pulling out his phone.

Jenn watched as the deputies began to head towards them.

"Dude, five-oh, take off." Dean said into his phone. "Uh, they kinda spotted us. Go find Dad."

Dean hung up his phone just as the deputies approach. He turns to face them.

"Problem officers?" Jenn asked, small smile on her face.

"Where's your partner?" Deputy Jaffe asked them.

"Partner? She's right here." Dean replied.

Jaffe motioned for Deputy Hein to check their motel room. Dean begins to fidget as Jenn watched Hein approach the door and walk out, finding that Sam wasn't there. He headed back to the group.

"So...fake US Marshal. Fake credit cards. You got anything that's real?"

"My boobs."

Dean grinned at Jaffe. Hein immediately grabbed Dean, both officers pulling out their handcuffs. Hein led Dean to the cop car as Jaffe led Jenn by her arm. Hein slammed Dean on the hood of the cop car earning a small laugh from Dean as both deputies handcuffed Jenn and Dean.

"You have the right to remain silent…" Jaffe told the hunters.

* * *

Jenn sat in the interrogation room, her left hand cuffed to the table. She looked around the room, knowing it would be any minute that she would be questioned. She sighed, getting bored until the door opened. In walked the Sheriff, whom she recognized as the Sheriff who showed up at the bridge as they were leaving.

"So you gonna cooperate with us or you gonna be like your friend next door?" Sheriff Pierce asked.

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" Jenn asked with a chuckle.

"What's your name?"

"Paula."

Sheriff Pierce sat down across the table and began writing on his legal pad.

"Good. Paula what?"

"Abdul."

The Sheriff started writing it down before he sighed, putting his pen down irritably.

"Paula Abdul?"

"Yup."

"You do realize how much trouble you're in, don't you?"

"No because I didn't do anything." Jenn leaned back in her chair.

"Maybe _you _didn't but I'm sure your boyfriend next door did." Sheriff Pierce crossed his arms, following Jenn's lead and leaned back in his chair.

"I thought you said he was my friend? Which is he to you Sheriff?"

"You can get caught up in aiding and conspiracy charges. And I'm pretty sure you and your boyfriend work with an older guy, that right?"

"Doing what?" She chuckled incredulously.

"That motel room you came out of has the faces of ten missing persons taped to the wall along with some devil crap. You tell me what you did. You're officially a suspect."

Jenn laughed once more, watching the Sheriff grow more agitated with her actions.

"Come on. You know when the disappearances started I was barely even born."

"And that's where the older partner came in. You and your boyfriend followed in his footsteps, continuing his work. And I know you both know where he is."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The Sheriff got up and went into the box on the table, pulling out a brown leather book. He dropped it in front of her, causing her to stop. She knew what it was. It was John's journal. To keep her cool, she looked up at the Sheriff, who immediately noticed her sudden change.

"I leafed through it, didn't get much out of it since it's something from a crazy person, but I found this." The Sheriff turned to a page.

He pushed the journal forward and pointed at the writing on the page. Dean's name was on it along with 35-111 with a circle around it.

"Your guy next door is Dean, isn't he?" He continued.

Jenn looked up from the page and shook her head.

"Nope."

The Sheriff sighed and grabbed the journal, putting it back into the box. He took the box as he walked out the door. Jenn knew he was gonna let her stew and try Dean again real soon.

* * *

Jenn glanced out the window to see that it was now night time. She was surprised that no one came to question her the past couple hours but the chair she sat in was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

The door opened and one of the deputies came over and uncuffed the part of her handcuffs attached to the table. He led her next door to Dean's interrogation room, handcuffing her next to Dean.

"Either of you have to go to the bathroom?" The Sheriff asked them.

"No." They replied in unison.

"Good."

The Sheriff double checked their handcuffs before going to leave.

"What was that about?" Jenn asked.

"All hands on deck. Must've been Sam." Dean replied. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. You?"

"Yeah."

"I'm surprised he left that behind. Couldn't he have left it another way?"

"Maybe he wanted us to have it."

Dean took notice of a paper clip poking out of the journal. He pulls it out, looking at it smugly. How could they not think about this?

Dean picked the locks on his and Jenn's handcuffs, freeing them. Dean grabbed the journal as Jenn kept a lookout through the window on the door for the deputies leaving.

"It's clear, come on." Jenn said, opening the door.

They stealthily made their way to the fire escape, climbing down and walking quickly down the street.

* * *

Finding a phone booth far from the police station, Dean picked up the phone and called Sam.

"Fake 911 phone call? Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal." Dean said as soon as Sam answered.

Jenn leaned against the open door of the phone booth, leafing through John's journal to see what there would be on a woman in white. She figured that she might as well while they wait for Sam to pick them up.

"_You're welcome_." Sam replied, Dean knowing his little brother smiling on the other end.

"Listen, we gotta talk."

"_Tell me about it. So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. And she's buried behind her old house, so that should have been Dad's next stop._"

"Sammy, would you shut up for a second?"

"_I just can't figure out why Dad hasn't destroyed the corpse yet_."

"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. He's gone. Dad left Jericho."

"_What? How do you know_?"

"We've got his journal."

"_He doesn't go anywhere without that thing_."

"Yeah well, he did this time."

"_What's it say?_"

"The same old ex-Marine crap when he wants to let us know where he's going."

"_Coordinates. Where to?_"

"I'm not sure yet."

"_I don't understand. I mean, what could be so important that Dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?_"

"Sam? Sam!"

Jenn looked up from the journal when Dean's voice took on a worried and panicked tone.

"Dean?" Jenn called.

Dean held up a finger, listening intently on the phone for a moment before he hung up.

"Sam's in trouble." Dean told her, both of them leaving the phone booth.

"Where?"

"I was able to hear the woman in white. She's going home."

The first thing the pair did was search for a car to steal. You just break out of jail and what's the first thing you do? Why steal a car, of course! You're already in trouble, what's the worst that could happen? At least, that's the logic Jenn used in her mind, trying to make light of a situation and keep her mind off worrying about Sam at the moment. Her worry isn't gonna make Dean hotwire this car any faster.

* * *

Dean and Jenn got out of the car the moment they saw the impala. Sam didn't look like he was in the car.

"No way she got to him, right?" Jenn asked Dean, hoping for assurance that Sam was still alive.

Jenn's answer came in the form of Sam's cry of pain. Dean pulled out his gun and began firing shots into the driver's side window at the fading Constance. Dean fired once more when she came back until she disappeared.

Sam took the chance to sit up and restart the impala.

"I'm taking you home." Sam said as he put the car in drive.

Sam punched the gas, driving the impala straight into the abandoned home of Constance Welch.

"Sam!" Jenn called out as she and Dean ran through the wreckage.

"Sam!" Dean also called when they get to the passenger side of the car. "You okay?"

"I think…" Sam replied.

"Can you move?"

"Yeah. Help me?"

Jenn opened the door to the impala and Sam was helped out by Dean.

"There you go."

Jenn smiled at Sam, glad he was okay...for the most part given he had 5 finger holes on his shirt from when Constance was trying to get in his chest moments earlier. Dean closed the impala door and they took notice of Constance, glaring at them. She threw the frame in her hand down to the ground and moved a dresser towards them, pinning the three hunters to the impala.

They struggle to get the dresser off them as the lights begin to flicker. The struggle stops as they see water coming down the staircase.

"You've come home to us, Mommy." Child like voices said.

Constance looked up at them, scared and distraught. She turned around and her kids were suddenly behind her. They pull her into a hug, Constance screaming. They all flicker for moments until they melt into a puddle of water on the floor. Sam, Jenn and Dean manage to get push the dresser off of them and go inspect the puddle of water.

"So this is where she drowned her kids."

"That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them."

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy."

Dean smacked Sam on his injured chest, causing Sam to laugh in pain. Jenn smiled and shook her head, leaning against the back of the impala.

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?" Sam chuckled.

"Hey. Saved your ass."

Dean went to inspect his car for damage from Sam crashing it into the house.

"I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car?" Dean continued, turning to look at Sam. "I'll kill you."

Sam and Jenn share a laugh as Dean rounded the car, continuing his inspection.

"I'm sure it's fine, Dean. Let's just get out of here." Jenn suggested, going to the backseat door and opening it.

* * *

Jenn rested her elbow on the window, her hand resting under her chin as she stared out of the window. Her mind got lost in why John could have them going on this wild goose chase for him. And why he didn't finish the job in Jericho...why would he just do half the job?

"Okay, here's where Dad went." Sam spoke as he looked at the map on his lap. "It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."

"Sounds charming. How far?" Dean asked.

"About six hundred miles."

"Hey, if we shag ass we could make it by morning."

"Dean, I, um…" Sam hesitated, causing Jenn to pay attention to the conversation.

"You're not going."

"The interview's in like ten hours. I gotta be there."

Dean nods in disappointment, returning his attention to the road. Jenn watched Dean for a moment, feeling bad for him. She knew he wanted Sam to come with them...in a way it would be like old times before college. He would never admit it out loud but she knew it was there.

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever. I'll take you home."

Part of Jenn was also hoping Sam would want to come with...but she knew he would want to go back to the life he was setting up for himself. She wanted to respect that but it didn't mean it didn't suck.

* * *

Dean pulled up to the front of Sam's apartment. Sam and Jenn get out of the impala.

"It was good to see you." Jenn said to him, pulling him into a hug.

"You too. I'll do better to keep in touch." Sam replied, smiling at her as they pulled away.

"Same."

Sam moved so Jenn could get in the passenger side of the car. He closed the door once she got in, leaning over the open window.

"Call me if you find him?" Sam asked Dean, who nodded in reply. "And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?"

"Yeah, all right."

Sam pat the door a couple times before turning to leave. Dean leaned over, an arm going over the back of the seat as he called out to his brother.

"Sam?" Dean called, causing Sam to turn back to face the two hunters in the impala. "You know, we made a hell of a team back there."

"Yeah."

Dean nodded before driving off.

"You good?" Jenn asked Dean after a moment.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Dean replied, glancing between her and the road.

"Just asking...I mean, I knew he would go back but part of me hoped he'd come with."

"...Me too."

Before Jenn could say anything else, the radio in the impala started to flicker and static out. In both of their guts, they knew something was wrong. Dean turned the car around and headed back to Sam's apartment.

* * *

Dean parked across the street and the two sprinted to Sam's front door. Dean kicked it down and he and Jenn were looking for Sam.

"Sam!" Dean and Jenn called out.

"Jess!" Sam yelled from his bedroom.

Following Sam's voice, Jenn and Dean ran into the bedroom.

"Sam!" Dean called for Sam's attention.

Dean and Jenn look up to see Jessica on the ceiling, lit on fire.

"No! No!"

Dean grabbed Sam off the bed and both he and Jenn shove him out of the door, Sam struggling the whole way.

"Jess! Jess!" Sam kept yelling for his girlfriend.

Jenn pulled as Dean pushed Sam as the flames continued to engulf the apartment.

* * *

Jenn and Dean watched the scene ahead. Fire trucks were outside the building with both firemen and police keeping back the crowd that had gathered to see what had happened. The two exchanged a look before looking back at Sam as he stood at the open trunk of the impala.

It had been a while but the Yellow Eyed Demon had resurfaced...and it killed Jessica in the same fashion it killed Mary Winchester and Camila Santos.

With a sigh, Jenn walked with Dean to where Sam stood. Sam was loading a shotgun, looking up at Jenn and Dean when they came by. A tear fell down Sam's face as he sighs. With a nod, he tossed the shotgun into the trunk.

"We got work to do." Sam said before closing the trunk.


End file.
